Differences between Austrian, Alsatian, German Riesling?

[David_Bu3ker]

@David_K

Getting past the discussion on the relative weights and acids of the wine, I’m also interested in people’s thoughts on the comments from the Alsatian winemakers about German wines. In the Wine-Searcher article, Isabelle Meyer from Josmeyer says:

“Germans do a lot of work in the cellar, with cultured yeasts and temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. The result is high precision and high clarity of the wines, but often only one aromatic identity emerges and dominates. My ‘Le Dragon’ Riesling is less perfect overall than some German Rieslings, but it offers more charm, with more complex and interesting aromas.”

The insinuation seems to be that the German wines are technically good but soulless. Is this an indictment more of the lower end or is this view prevalent of German wines up and down the range? While undoubtedly precise, I’ve never thought of German wines as charmless.

That is a seriously gross and uninformed generalization. It’s more like a sales pitch than a useful critique.

[R_Nanda]

@James Wright

John, you can save yourself a lot of stress and agro by drinking PG from Oregon. Better than most Germans and more satisfying than many €€€ from Alsace

Any favorite Oregon PG’s? Interested to hear more. (and apologies in advance for the thread drift, in a thread full of good conversation).

[James_Wright]

starting with the old favourites: Eyrie, Chehalem, Benton Lane…

my information lacks depth in terms of being current; I am sure there are many more fine ones that are relatively new, since the variety does beautifully in Oregon.

first impression decades ago was that it was the single American varietal wine most faithful to its European antecedents.

[Ross_Massey]

@David_K

Getting past the discussion on the relative weights and acids of the wine, I’m also interested in people’s thoughts on the comments from the Alsatian winemakers about German wines. In the Wine-Searcher article, Isabelle Meyer from Josmeyer says:

“Germans do a lot of work in the cellar, with cultured yeasts and temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. The result is high precision and high clarity of the wines, but often only one aromatic identity emerges and dominates. My ‘Le Dragon’ Riesling is less perfect overall than some German Rieslings, but it offers more charm, with more complex and interesting aromas.”

The insinuation seems to be that the German wines are technically good but soulless. Is this an indictment more of the lower end or is this view prevalent of German wines up and down the range? While undoubtedly precise, I’ve never thought of German wines as charmless.

Unless she was taken out of context (hard to see how), this is a truly obnoxious statement.

[James_Wright]

@Ross Massey

@David_K

Getting past the discussion on the relative weights and acids of the wine, I’m also interested in people’s thoughts on the comments from the Alsatian winemakers about German wines. In the Wine-Searcher article, Isabelle Meyer from Josmeyer says:

“Germans do a lot of work in the cellar, with cultured yeasts and temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. The result is high precision and high clarity of the wines, but often only one aromatic identity emerges and dominates. My ‘Le Dragon’ Riesling is less perfect overall than some German Rieslings, but it offers more charm, with more complex and interesting aromas.”

The insinuation seems to be that the German wines are technically good but soulless. Is this an indictment more of the lower end or is this view prevalent of German wines up and down the range? While undoubtedly precise, I’ve never thought of German wines as charmless.

Unless she was taken out of context (hard to see how), this is a truly obnoxious statement.

sounds to me like a bit of 'cross-the-Rhein/Rhin rivalry, since Maxime Barmès, from the excellent Domaine Barmès Buecher in Wettolsheim, states:

“German vineyards are worked more intensely (than Alsatian), therefore with a greater yield potential, which logically produces wines based on a varietal structure, on citrus, fruit and acidity. Technically they are often very good and precise, but they are often corrected by the enological approach in the cellar. German Rieslings sometimes lack dimension because they lack the contribution of texture and minerality brought by balanced viticulture and winemaking methods.”